Western Colorado University

What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for Western Colorado University

Western Colorado University operates as a public institution located in Gunnison, Colorado (town: remote), with a total reported enrollment of 1,586 students of which 5,303 are undergraduates. Institution-level records in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) classify each school by Carnegie category, ownership sector, and urban/rural locale, which is how this profile’s peer group and cost cohort are determined. Western Colorado University is categorized as “19” under the Carnegie classification system, a meaningful signal when comparing like-to-like institutions.

Selectivity and financial signals give context to what applicants can expect. The reported admission rate is 99.7%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey, with an average SAT of 1,230 and an ACT midpoint of 24. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $16,425, with published in-state tuition of $11,318 and a Pell grant recipient share of 12.0%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $20,250, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 50.6%, and the first-year retention rate is 72.4%. Graduates earn a median of $46,833 ten years after enrolling, compared with $40,037 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 92500.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 53.5% of graduates earn above the high-school threshold. Treating these numbers as a single snapshot alongside the cost cohort is the standard approach for evaluating ROI under the College Scorecard methodology.